Emilie and I have been talking recently and we're both completely bewildered.
The more I listen to secular music the more I hear the crying out of
their souls for Christ. And it's devastatingly frustrating!
There's a Linkin Park song that could easily be mistaken for Christian,
if fact, they play it on Christian stations sometimes, I've heard it
done. Anyway, the song is just this guy pouring out his intense desire
to be forgiven of all the things he's done\doing.
"Let mercy come and wash away what I've done."
Hello! Is that not the making of a worship song or something?!
This guy talks about erasing what he's done and basically doing a 180
with his life. Everything about this song is a lost soul screaming for
Christ.
AND YET THEY WON'T LISTEN!
It's driving me MAD! We (Christians) have managed to get such a bad
rep. here in America that as soon as a someone knows what we believe
they completely turn off to us. It's ripping me up. I want SO BADLY to
be able to go to this guy and hold out my hands and say, "Look, I know
what you need. What you want. You don't know it but I've heard how much
you long for this and I want to help."
And yet...I don't even know if that would have any effect except to get me thrown out on my face on the sidewalk.
I forgot my other example, so I'll use this one instead:
There's a guy, Glen Phillips, who writes amazing songs. He's got a
crappy life but it doesn't stop him from being a powerful songwriter.
He does one song that's called "Cleareyed" and, honestly, I don't have
a clue what the heck it could possibly be about if it's not about God.
But he's not a Christian.
"Blind me with love. Make me blind because I've seen to much of this life and now I only see you."
I'm so frustrated with this.
Another song he wrote goes on about getting back into the groove of Christ, or that's what is seems like.
"I’m not sure what it takes, I’m fuzzy on the rules
And everything’s so dark, everything but you.
I’ve forgotten how to pray, forgotten what was true
And everything feels bought, everything but you."
Another line says something about all the entertainment and stimulation of the world's just leaving him empty and longing.
And, unfortunately, the lyrics I pulled up claim that he uses some
nasty language in this song but, trust me, I've heard him preform it
and I've got the CD, he doesn't say any bad stuff in this song. So, if
you look up the song...those aren't the right lyrics.
"You terrify me. You are everything.
I'm proud to be your fool, everything's a crutch, everything but you."
AND THEN he does a song called "Thank You" and the opening line is,
"You made this world, thank you." Chorus: "Your love is everywhere."
AND HE STILL WILL NOT say he's a Christian.
I am so confused.
I guess what I'm trying to ask is this: Why can they (secular artists)
g e t stuff that most Christian artists can't? Why can they get the
emotion and passion underneath their songs that aren't even written
with a knowledge of what they r e a l l y mean, when a majority of our
singer\songwriters just can't?
I think there are a couple good Christian bands but, in general, I
don't like Christian music because it all starts sounding the same.
And, a great deal of the time, just focuses on how crappy and sinful we
are, which, of course, is true but we don't need to dwell on it and
write song after song after song just tearing ourselves down. I feel
like the songs are loosing track of what exactly the point is. They
talk about how we're so bad and He's so good and how could He love crap
like me? Yeah, okay, we know. Now, let's stop focusing on how much we
suck and just write some songs that really truly praise HIM and talk
about HIM not us, unless we're standing in complete and total awe of
HIM.
Okay, I think that's all I have...
Oh, on a side note, the famine's this weekend and I'd like a lot of
prayer for that--I've got some tough stuff my family and I've got to
hammer out with God, you know, get an idea of where He's leading us as
of the next several years of our lives.
~kaPo
Comments (4)
The part you may be missing, at least as far as Glen is concerned, is that he DOES believe in a creator -- he just doesn't know an exact identity for that creator. He's actually a devoted scholar of religion in general, which is why so many of his songs sound/are religious and thoughtful. He's a philosopher and a theist, but not in a specific camp.
I imagine many artists, songwriters included, are the same way, though maybe less educated: they have the sensitivity to know something or someone is out there, but no solid identity to attach to the knowledge.
I also think you need not be frustrated. You hear the passion and truth in his music, right? You hear him personally addressing his creator, even if he isn't using the same labels you would use... so don't you think it's possible that, in the end, he'll be up there with you saying, "Wow, it was Him all along!" I don't think that's far-fetched.
Sorry this took me so long, I've been out of town.
"He DOES believe in a creator -- he just doesn't know an exact identity for that creator. "
"You hear him personally addressing his creator, even if he isn't using the same labels you would use... so don't you think it's possible that, in the end, he'll be up there with you saying, "Wow, it was Him all along!" I don't think that's far-fetched."
I feel the need to point out that that's not how salvation works. Just believing in God doesn't get you into heaven. Accepting that He sent His Son to die for us all is what does that.
You don't get in by admitting God's there, even if you know His name, that's made very clear in the bible. We are saved solely by Christ Jesus, God's only Son who died so that we get to go to live with Him.
I know it sounds kinda hokey because that's what we always say. People are getting immune to those words because they're bombarded with them all the time. But, seriously, that's the truth. It's not good deeds or worshiping a god or a creator that gets us in, even if it's the right God. It's Jesus.
So, no, unless Glen accepts that Jesus has given Himself as a sacrifice to save him from death, he won't be there with me at the "end", as you called it, though I don't think of it that way at all.
~kaPo
I have responses and questions, and would like to debate this more... but this isn't the right place.